Monday, 13 July 2009

Good ole Blighty....

Shock - horror!!! We have a dose of potato blight that is ripping through our potato crop. What does this mean for us?Well it means that we'll have to start pulling up all the potatoes on infected plants and that we'll soon have more potatoes than we know what to do with. So much for forward planning and having crops lasting for a while eh! At least our friends will be in plentiful supply of potatoes.We should still have enough to last us a good while as they are not all infected - and if they do become infected we'll still have a bit of a delay before we take them up. We'll just have to make lots of room in the nice cool dark garage to store them all. So all is not lost!

The idea of taking on the 160 acres is still there and is slowly gaining a bit of momentum. It has certainly moved out of the "don't be ridiculous" camp to the "maybe...just maybe" camp. The next week or so will be crucial as we look through the numbers over and over and over. While we relish the opportunity of really being so close to farming animals in an ethical, fully traceable and welfare friendly environment (and also sharing the experience and produce with others), we do need to make sure that it is sustainable and viable in some way.

Last, but not least, the wool from the ewes is ever so slowly being turned into wool. A lengthy process that starts with the fleece being washed, then tiny portions carded and spun. An interesting thing to do while wactching a movie or catching up on The Ashes. Will post some picture soon.